Holiday Charity Ideas: Ways to Help Out in New York This Holiday Season

One of the Holiday Cards available from the Doe Fund

Offer your help for the holidays to the people who need it most!

Has the holiday season got you feeling extra generous? Us too! Our Holiday Toy Drive for the homeless children of NYC was a great success! Thank you so much to everyone who came by our locations to drop off a toy. While the toys are gone, it’s not too late to donate to theNew York Cares Coat Drive. Donate new or used coats to any Manhattan Mini Storage location by Jan. 14. We’ll do the rest!

If you still want to offer your help for the holidays we’ve got some more great ideas to help you give back to the community and spread a little extra joy around this season.

Great Holiday Charity Ideas From Manhattan Mini Storage

Send Fuzzy Festive Holiday Greetings: PETA‘s Holiday 2010 Rescued Calendar features beautiful photographs of animals alongside their rescue stories which will melt the heart of any Grinch, while the Gift Card set features adorable rats snuggled together on the front – sure to make you rethink your subway critters. (www.petacatalog.com) Once you’ve purchased, head over the PETA naughty list to give a lump of coal to Ronald McDonald or the CEO of Seaworld. (features.peta.org/Naughty-List/)

Have a Blue Christmas: Men in blue, that is, referring to the members of theDoe Fund‘s Ready Willing and Able brigrade, which creates programs to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism. Honor them this season by purchasing their stunning, glossy holiday cards pack or by joining in on the December 25 vigil at Grand Central in memory of their founder and namesake, Mama Doe. (http://www.doe.org)

Jingle All the Way: You’ve seen the ubiquitous red kettles at malls, grocery stores and on just about every street corner in Manhattan. The Salvation Army Times Square Corpsis a time-honored holiday tradition that transforms donations into cheer-bringing gifts to the ailing and homeless of NYC during the holidays. Drop some change into their buckets or join the bell-ringing brigade yourself! (www.salvationarmy.org)

Wrap One Up For the Elderly: Got an afternoon or two to put some pizzazz on a package? DOROT, a nationwide nonprofit organization that specializes in elderly assistance, offers opportunities to help gift wrap packages for seniors at various Barnes & Noble locations during the month of December. You can also sign up for holiday gift delivery duty on the Sunday before Channukah. (www.dorot.com)

Find Your Perfect Match: We know you’re busy, which is why New York Cares makes it easy for you to find ways to help for the holidays. Go to their website, enter in your schedule and your location, and see a list of programs that would be the best fit for you. With over the 1,200 opportunities listed year round, we’re sure it will be easy to find a holiday opportunity to match. (www.nycares.org)

Spread the Glee: Looking for fun and kid friendly holiday charity ideas this season? Look no further than Only Make Believe, a program that allows you to organize events, dress up in fun costumes and bring smiles to the faces of children in hospitals and care facilities. (www.onlymakebelieve.org/)

Feel Warm and Fuzzy: Looking for an extra cozy way to help out this holiday? Join Visions knitting circles, assisting the needle-wielding volunteers with choosing colors, materials and picking patterns while they create gifts for the blind or visually impaired. (www.visionsvcb.org)